Nightmares
by Calleigh's little girl
Summary: When Hotch loses the one person that means the most to him,he falls apart...Will he be able to cope with the loss...Please R&R!Warning character death! ElleHotch


**Discs.: I don't own the show nor its characters!**

**A/N: Here's a new story by me...I wanna thank my friend Lauren (aka SpeedlesChic) for correcting...**

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**Nightmares**

_1. Bad news_

The team was working on a case in Atlanta and they were on their way to do a raid after receiving a tip on their UnSub.

When Hotch and Elle arrived everyone else wasn't there yet. As Elle went to go in Hotch hold her back :

"We should wait for back-up."

"So that the UnSub has the chance to take off and kill another woman? I won't let that happen..."

Elle gave him a stubborn look, and a moment later they went in, guns drawn.

Hotch felt on edge, unable to shake the feeling that it had been wrong to go in without back-up.

Suddenly a man appeared out of the nowhere, a submachine gun in his hands. As the guy started firing they were soon both paralyzed, incapable of doing anything...

Hotch knew he had been hit, he felt the unbearable pain rushing through his body, but when he saw Elle going down, all of it was forgotten. He moved toward her - somehow surprised by the fact that he wasn't already unconscious - he forced himself to sit up, even though every move made the pain in his chest increase.

He saw her eyes closing and stated:

"Elle, come on, keep your eyes open...You have to hold on, okay? The others will be here in no time and so will an ambulance."

"Shh..." Elle silenced him with pressing a finger against his lips, "There's something I need to tell you...I love you like I never loved anyone before..."

"Elle listen, I love you too, I'm loving you maybe even far more than I ever loved Haley...I need you, so you gotta hold on, you hear me?" Hotch interrupted her,

"We'll have all the time in the world for talking about this, okay?"

Her eyes were closing again, a single tear slipping away from the corner of her left eye.

"Elle, open your eyes, please, let me see those wonderful eyes of yours. Come on, Elle, don't leave me..."

He was crying by now, and he didn't care, though he wished he could be stronger encouraging Elle, that they would make it through this.

He lifted his hand to check her pulse while he was fighting against the drowsiness, but it was a losing battle...Only a second later everything around him went black, the last thing he heard were the sirens of police cars.

_Six hours later:_

Gideon, JJ, Reid and Morgan were sitting in the waiting-area of the hospital.

"Where is he?"

Gideon got up and walked to Haley. He had called her from the hospital, and she had promised to take the next flight out to Atlanta.

"He's still in surgery no word yet..."

After a moment they both sat down.

_Flashback:_

As the team arrived at the ware-house, Gideon took the lead and gave instructions to everyone. Then they split up.

When Morgan went further into the building, gun drawn, he stopped dead in his tracks as he saw Hotch and Elle lying on the ground; he rushed over to them, while saying over the radio:

"Two agents down. We need two ambulances immediately!"

He looked for a second at his two wounded colleagues. It shocked him to see all the blood, still he crouched down next to them, then he moved carefully the upper part of Hotch's body, which was resting on Elle's chest and checked their vitals.

_End flashback _

A man in a white coat approached them. When he reached them he stated :

"You're here for Mr. Hotchner?"

Haley got up and asked:

"How is he?"

"Well, we were able to remove the bullet and stopped the bleeding. He is still unconscious; we're quite certain that he will wake up soon and make a full recovery. If you want you can see him, but only one person at a time. Only fifteen minutes."

The doctor led Haley to Hotch's room, and then he left. Haley walked up to his bed. She took a seat and got a hold of his right hand.

_Meanwhile:_

The team had decided to get back to the hotel, given the fact that the local FBI agents were chasing the UnSub and Haley was at the hospital.

Reid was unable to sleep. He couldn't believe that his boss had been shot and that Elle was gone...This had to be a nightmare.

Gideon was lost in his thoughts. He wondered how they were supposed to tell Hotch that Elle hadn't made it.

JJ was asleep, but it was not an enjoyable sleep; she had a nightmare.

Morgan was sitting in his room, still trying to comprehend the events of the day.

_Flashback:_

When he checked Hotch's vitals Morgan was relieved to feel a pulse, but as he checked on Elle all that was left was pain though her skin was still warm she wasn't breathing and he couldn't feel a pulse.

_End flashback_

He couldn't believe that Elle was dead. She had been like a sister for him...

_Four days later:_

JJ, Reid, Gideon and Morgan had gone to visit Hotch, while Haley got some rest.

_Around 1 pm:_

As Hotch woke up he thought it had been only a bad dream, but when he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings, he knew it was true.

The moment the others noticed that he was awake they smiled at him.

"How are you?" Gideon asked.

"I'm okay, I guess." He took a look around, and then he went on, "Where's Elle?"

His colleagues let their heads hang.

"What is it?" Hotch tried to suppress the rising panic, caused by the pain in the faces of his colleagues, "Where is she?!" Hotch asked once more in a firm voice.

JJ, Morgan, Reid and Gideon looked at each other. Then Gideon stated:

"First of all calm down, okay?"

"No it's not okay!" Hotch yelled, "You're going to tell me where Elle is, right now!" He ordered.

"Calm down, Hotch." Morgan said quietly.

Finally Gideon told him:

"Listen Hotch, Elle didn't make it..."

"What?"

"There was nothing they were able to do..."

Hotch let his head drop:

"That's all my fault..."

"No it isn't." Morgan assured.

"I should have kept her from going in without back-up..."

"Hotch, I know you feel responsible, but nothing of it was your fault..."

He kept silent; they didn't know anything...Especially not about how or what he was feeling.

_Tbc_

**A/N: Hope you liked it! Chapter 2 is already finished as well, but I guess it will still take a while 'til I will be able to post it...**


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